Molecular identification of (Gedoelst, 1920) from the Eurasian badger () and ascarids from other wild carnivores in Kazakhstan.

Introduction: The presence of gastrointestinal nematodes, including zoonotic ascarids, in wild canids, felids and mustelids as definitive hosts in Central Asian countries has been documented in many studies based on traditional morphological methods. In contrast, relevant data for the badger are scarce. The aim of this study was the molecular identification of ascarid nematodes from five wild carnivore species in different regions of Kazakhstan.

Methods: A total of 211 adult ascarids were collected from gray wolves (, 8 of 83 infected with 2-6 ), red foxes (, 26 of 53, with 2-8 ), corsac foxes (, 6 of 11, 3-6 ), lynx (, 2 of 3, with 2-5 ) and badgers (, 2 of 4, with 2-7 ). Genomic DNA was extracted from the worms and ribosomal DNA, including the first and second internal transcribed spacer genes, was amplified by polymerase chain reaction using specific oligonucleotide primers and then sequenced.

Results: , but not , was molecularly identified in the wild canids, in the lynx and in the badger. The maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree showed three distinct clades: the canid was placed in one clade, in another and in a third.

Discussion: The study provides the world's first molecular data and phylogenetic analysis of , identified for the second time since its description over 100 years ago. This species was shown to be genetically distinct from other spp. (, , , ). The possible zoonotic significance of ascarids from wild carnivores is discussed in the light of conditions in Central Asia.